National News

Apple's Macworld finale includes iTunes songs at 69 cents and end of copy protection Apple Inc. is cutting the price of some songs in its market-leading iTunes online music store to 69 cents and plans to begin selling all tracks without copy protection.

India's national airline fires 9 flight attendants deemed overweight Nine flight attendants who couldn't meet the weight standards of India's national airlines have been fired, an official said Tuesday.

Facing Baby Boom onslaught, Social Security unveils online application that takes15 minutes The Social Security Administration, bracing for the coming eligibility of 80 million baby boomers, is introducing an online application that will allow people to apply for retirement benefits in as

Secretary of Senate refuses to seat Roland Burris of Illinois Roland Burris announced Tuesday he was rejected for Barack Obama's Senate seat, in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into sess

6 countries see halt in Russian gas shipments via Ukraine; EU calls cutoff 'unacceptable' Six countries reported a complete shutoff of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine on Tuesday, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens Europe as winter sets in.

Israeli tanks head closer to major cities in Gaza, civilian casualties mount Israeli shells slammed into Gaza and ground forces edged closer to major population centers Tuesday, taking more civilian lives after Israel ignored mounting international calls for an immediate ce

New Congress, dominated by Democrats, to press Obama agenda amid an economic crisis The Democratic-dominated Congress convenes Tuesday to confront perhaps the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and to grapple with a hugely ambitious agenda set by President-elect Bara

Obama picks manager over career pros for intelligence slots, surprising the spy community President-elect Barack Obama's selection of an old White House hand to head the CIA shows a preference for a strong manager over an intelligence expert.

Obama picks manager over career pros for intelligence slots President-elect Barack Obama's selection of an old White House hand to head the CIA shows a preference for a strong manager over an intelligence expert.

McCoy leads the way as No. 3 Texas rallies past No. 10 Ohio State 24-21 in Fiesta Colt McCoy hit Quan Cosby for a 26-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to play, lifting third-ranked Texas to a 24-21 Fiesta Bowl victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Monday night.

Obama says trillion-dollar deficits may last years despite recovery efforts President-elect Barack Obama says the nation probably faces huge deficits for years to come, but heavy spending is needed now to spur the economy.

Phillies' J.C. Romero, Yankees minor leaguer Mitre suspended 50 games for banned substance Phillies reliever J.C. Romero and Yankees minor league pitcher Sergio Mitre were suspended for the first 50 games of next season after testing positive for a banned substance.

Obama to create oversight board for economic stimulus plan; promises no earmarks President-elect Barack Obama is promising that his economic stimulus plan won't include money for politicians' pet projects and will include provisions aimed at ensuring his administration is open

Online Islamic radicals scoff at White House announcing death of Bush family's cat Islamic militants posted sarcastic comments on an extremist Web site Tuesday ridiculing a recent announcement by First Lady Laura Bush that the family's cat had died.

Burris says he's planning to appear Tuesday to be seated in the US Senate Barack Obama's appointed successor declared Tuesday he's qualified to take a seat in the Senate and said he'll go to Capitol Hill to do just that.

Colt McCoy leads the way as No. 3 Texas rallies past No. 10 Ohio State 24-21 in Fiesta Bowl The Texas Longhorns will be No. 1 on at least one ballot. It belongs to coach Mack Brown.

Obama stimulus plan includes billions in retroactive tax refunds for struggling businesses President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package would provide businesses with billions of dollars in refunds on taxes they paid several years ago.

Move to generic drugs slows rise in health care costs; sector's share of the economy grows too Health care continued to take up a greater share of the economy in 2007, as spending on hospitals, doctors and other services increased 6.1 percent to $2.2 trillion.

In spite of declaring that he is a senator, Burris unlikely to be allowed to take oath Tuesday Although he calls himself a senator, Roland Burris has found little support among fellow Democrats in his effort to take the Senate seat to which embattled Illinois Gov.

Burris declares 'I'm a senator' _ but seating unlikely Tuesday as Dems try to avert showdown Senate Democrats struggled to avert a showdown steeped in race and corruption Monday as a defiant Roland Burris declared, "I'm a United States senator" and flew to the capital to claim President-el